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Social influence Flashcards

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1
Q

Describe conformity

A
  • type of social influence
  • changes behaviour
  • matching attitudes, beliefs or behaviours with social norms
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2
Q

Who categorised the motivations to conform

A

Deutsch and Gerard

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3
Q

What are the motivations to conform?

A

Normative Social Influence
Informational Social Influence

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4
Q

What are the three types of conformity?

A

Compliance
Identification
Internalisation

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5
Q

Describe what is meant by Compliance

A

When someone adheres to requests or demands in public.
Disagrees in private

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6
Q

Outline a study that supports Compliance

A

Asch
Ps comply and answer questions incorrectly
Don’t agree in private

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7
Q

Describe what is meant by Identification

A

When someone conforms to the demands of a social role in society

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8
Q

Outline a study that supports Identification

A

Zimbardo
Ps comformed to their roles as guard or prisoner

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9
Q

Describe what is meant by internalisation

A

When an individual changes their behaviour to fit in with a group publicly
Agrees privately
Group beliefs become part of the individuals belief system

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10
Q

What type of social influence did Asch study?

A

Normative Social Influence

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11
Q

What was the aim of Asch’s experiment?

A

To investigate whether people would conform to a groups wrong answer even if the answer was unambiguous

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12
Q

What is the Asch effect?

A

The influence of the group’s majority view on an individual’s judgement

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13
Q

Describe the method of Asch’s study

A

Ps were shown a series of printed line segments
Lines were different lengths
A,b,c and x
Ps were asked to identify which line segment resembles line x
One confederate per group

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14
Q

Describe the findings of Asch’s study

A

75% of participants conformed to group pressure at least once
Four key factors to influence conformity:
Size of majority
- up to 7 then plateau
Presence of another dissenter
- one can drop conformity rates to zero
Public of private
Task difficulty

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15
Q

Evaluate Asch’s study

A

Cons
- Artificial situation,
Low ecological validity, can’t be generalised

-Deception,
Didn’t know others were confederates

Pros
- Lab setting,
Variables were strictly controlled,
Easily repeated,
Influence of extraneous variables are minimised

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16
Q

Outline other factors affecting conformity

A

Confidence
- Asch found that confident Ps didn’t conform
- PERRIN AND SPENCER,
Asch on engineering students,
conformity not as high
More confident in their decision making

Gender
Before 1970s psychologists felt that women conformed more than men.
- Eagly and Carli(1981)
Analysed conformity research data
Found inconsistencies in sex differences.
Genres differed where audiences created group pressure.

Eagly
Women are more likely to conform because they don’t like group conflict.
Men are less likely to conform because they are expected to show independence and assertiveness.

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17
Q

What was the aim of Sherif(1935)

A

To show that people conform to group norms when they’re performing an ambiguous task

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18
Q

What is the auto kinetic effect

A

Dot of light is projected onto a screen in a dark room.
Light appears to move, it’s not.
The dot is in a visual illusion.

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19
Q

Describe the method of Sherif(1935) study

A

Lab experiment
Used auto kinetic effect.
Ps were led to believe that someone was moving the light.
Asked to guess how far the light moved.
Tested in three stages
1- guessed individually
2- guessed in groups of three
3- guessed individually

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20
Q

Describe the results of Sherif(1935)

A

Phase 1- guessed varied between 20-80cm
Phase2- converged to common estimate
Phase 3- made guesses closer to common group.

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21
Q

Describe the conclusion of Sherif(1935)

A

People look to others for guidance when ambiguous
(Like auto kinetic effect)

Look to others when don’t have all information needed
(Informational conformity)

Ps estimates converged because they were influenced by ISI

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22
Q

Evaluate Sherif(1935)

A

Lab experiment
- a third variable shouldn’t have influenced results
- can establish cause and effect.
- replicable, Ps variables could be kept constant

Deception
- ps believed stationary light was moving
-Narrow sample, only males participates, reduces generalisability
- artificial situation

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23
Q

Outline Normative Social Influence

A

People conform to the group to fit in, feel good, and to be accepted

Study- Asch, Ps wanted to avoid ridicule

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24
Q

Outline Informational Social Influence

A

Believe group is competent
And has correct information
Particularly when task is ambiguous

ie, emergency situation

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25
Q

Outline 3 studies and what they found on social rules, norms and scripts

A

Hare(2003)
- social role is a pattern of behaviour
- Expected in a given setting or group

Deutsch&Gerard(1955)
- social norm is an expectation of what is appropriate.

Schank& Abelson(1977)
- a script is a person’s knowledge about the sequence of events expected in a specific setting

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26
Q

Describe the sample for Zimbardo’s experiment

A

Advertisement placed in 1971
Asked for male volunteers
70 volunteered
Went through psychological testing
- eliminated underlying psychiatric issues

Down to 24 healthy male college students.
Each paid 15 a day

Randomly assigned prisoner or guard.

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27
Q

Describe the method for Zimbardo’s study

A

Mock prison makes in basement of Stanford University.
Ps assigned prisoner were fake arrested at their homes by Palo Alto police officers,
Booked at a police station,
Taken back to the mock prison.

Experiment was scheduled for 2 weeks

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28
Q

Describe the findings of Zimbardo’s prison study

A

Surprise to researchers,
Prisoners and guards assumed their roles with energy
Day 2- some prisoners revolted.
Guards threatened with night sticks.
Soon guards came to harass prisoners in sadistic manner
Lack of privacy
Lack of basic comforts

Prisoners showed signs of anxiety and hopelessness.
Began tolerating guards abuse.

After 6 days experiment stopped due to participant’s deteriorating behaviour

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29
Q

Apply social roles, norms and scripts to Zimbardo’s study

A

Roles
- guards and prisoners engaged in appropriate behaviours for their roles.

Norms
- required guards to be authoritarian and prisoners submissive.
When prisoners rebelled, violated norms, led to upheaval.

Scripts
Specific acts of guards and prisoners derived from scripts.

Some prisoners became so immersed that they showed symptoms of mental breakdown
- Alexander proved none faced long term harm.

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30
Q

How has Zimbardo’s study mirrored real life events

A

Abu Ghraib

Abuse on US army troops in prisoner of war camps like Abu Ghraib in 2003-4

Photographs document offences

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31
Q

Outline the aim of Orlando (1973)

A

To investigate how people conformed to roles given to them in an experiment in a mock psychiatric ward

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32
Q

Describe the method for Orlando(1973)

A

Mock psychiatric ward active for three days.
52 staff members took part
- 29 volunteered as mock patients
-22 worked their jobs as normal

33
Q

Evaluate Orlando(1973)

A

Gave insight into real patient’s experiences in hospital
- influenced hospital staff to empathise more with patients

34
Q

Describe the results of Orlando(1973)

A

Mock patients quickly began to act like normal hospital patients
Conformed to given roles
Lots showed signs of having withdrawal and depression
Six mock patients attempted to escape the ward
Some mock patients admitted to feelings of lost identity

35
Q

Describe the aim of Reicher and Haslam(2006)

A

To observe how dynamics between guards and prisoners in a mock experiment have changed over time

36
Q

Describe the method for Reicher and Haslam(2006)

A

Controlled observation
Set in a mock prison
Filmed for broadcasting

15 male volunteers took part.
Assigned roles randomly:
5 guards
10 inmates

Compliance, stress and depression levels were measured daily.
They were told that one random prisoner would be promoted and become a guard on day three

An ethics committee was set up and could stop the study at any time.

37
Q

Describe the results of Reicher and Haslam(2006)

A

The guards find not form a group,
Did not always use their authority
Did not identify with their assigned role

Unequal system eventually failed because guards had a week group identity
Prisoners formed a strong group identity

Day 1-3: prisoners acted in ways they thought would allow them to become guards.
Day 4: prisoners formed a stronger identity because they couldn’t get promoted
Day 6: prisoners rebelled. Ps formed a democracy
Day 6-: democracy eventually failed because of group tensions. Some ex- prisoners tried to establish a hierarchy.

Ethics committee stopped the experiment because of participant stress levels.

38
Q

Describe the conclusion for Reicher and Haslam(2006)

A
  • volunteers didn’t embody their assigned roles
  • implies flexibility of roles
39
Q

Evaluate Reicher and Haslam(2006)

A

No deception

Protection, ethics committee., debrief and counselling offered

Artificial situation, low ecological validity, can’t be generalised well
Staged for TV, many people claim parts of study were staged or participants influenced by cameras.
Lack of empowerment, Zimbardo’s guards were promoted to keep order.

40
Q

Describe what is meant by Obedience

A

The change of an individuals behaviour to comply with a demand by an authority figure
Often comp,y because ed with consequences

41
Q

What inspired Milgram(1963) experiment?

A

Adolf Eichmann
Nazi war criminal

Defended his crimes by saying he was “just following orders”

Milgram wanted to test validity of this defence

42
Q

Describe method for Milgram(1963)

A

40 male volunteers
Led to believe that they were participating in a study to improve learning and memory
Ps shown how to use a device that delivered electric shocks of different intensities to the learners.

Ps were told to shock learners if they gave a wrong answer to a test item and the show would help them to learn.

Shocks were increased in 15- volt increments up to 450 volts.

Ps didn’t know learners were confederates.
Cos didn’t actually receive shocks.

43
Q

Describe the results of Milgram(1963)

A

Ps obediently and repeatedly shocked learners

Ds cried out for help, begged the participant to stop and complained of heart trouble

When R told Ps to continue, 65% continued to shock to maximum voltage ,
To the point learner was unresponsive

44
Q

Describe Variations of Milgram(1963)

A

Location
- moved to an office space
- highest shock rate dropped to 48%

Proximity
-learner was in the same room
-highest shock rate dropped to 40%

  • teachers and learners hands were touching
  • highest shock rate dropped to 30%
  • R gave orders by phone
  • highest shock rate dropped to 23%

Show that when humanity increased, obedience decreased.

When authority of R decreased, obedience decreased

45
Q

Evaluate Milgram (1963)

A

Lab experiment
- strict control of variables, establish cause and effect

Low ecological validity
- artificial situation

Deception
- ps couldn’t give informed consent because they didn’t know real nature of study.
Weren’t told they could withdraw

Lack of protection
- ps we’re visibly stressed
HOWEVER
no formal ethical guidelines existed at the time

Potential low internal validity
Ps might have knows that they weren’t inflicting real shocks and just did what the R wanted.
HOWEVER
Milgram stated that Ps displayed levels of stress so study was genuine.

46
Q

Who theorised the agentic state

A

Milgram

Suggested that people could enter a state where they pass responsibility onto those giving orders.

More legitimate, more likely to be obeyed

47
Q

Describe the agentic state

A

state
Behaves as agent for other person

Allows them to deny responsibility,
Distance themselves from consequences of actions

48
Q

Describe the autonomous state

A

When people can control and act according to their own wishes

49
Q

Outline research evidence for the agentic state

A

Milgram(1963)
Noted Ps felt under moral strain but still obeyed,

When R was not in the same room, obedience fell for, 62.5% to 20.4%

50
Q

Describe legitimacy of authority

A

Obedient people accept power and status of legitimate authority figures

More likely to obey them

Higher up in social hierarchy, more likely to be obeyed

Taught through early socialisation

51
Q

Describe the agentic shift

A

When individuals shift from the autonomous state to the agentic state

Milgram
Started autonomous then agentic

52
Q

Outline 3 factors for staying in the agentic state

A

Insistence of authority-
Experimenter told Ps to continue even. If stressed

Pressure of location -
Conducted in university. See Ex as legitimate authority

Unwillingness to disrupt-
Ps might’ve felt like they couldn’t stop experiment bc already been payed

53
Q

Who proposed the authoritarian personality

A

Adorno et al

54
Q

Describe the authoritarian personality

A

Adorno proposed personality stems from early childhood experiences

People with strict parents develop more authoritarian personalities

Developed the f-scale designed to measure levels of authoritarian personality

55
Q

Describe research findings for the authoritarian oersonality

A

Elms and Milgram(1966)

Correlation between personality type and AT using Milgram’s procedure.

H
Correlations study means we cant be sure personality type was the cause of high levels of obedience

Correlation ≠ causation

F-scale questionnaire is easily manipulated.
Means Ps could’ve second guessed questions

Also correlates with education levels,
Alternative explanation

56
Q

Describe social support

A

When other people defy attempts to make them conform and obey,
It becomes easier for the individual to resist.

Presence of dissenters creates strong sources of defiance.

57
Q

Describe reaserach findings on social support

A

Asch(1951)

If dissenter answered correctly from start,
Conformity dropped from 32% to 5.5%

I’d dissenter answered correctly later in the study, conformity dropped to 8.5%

Social support received earlier is more effective

Milgram

2 confederates paired with real Ps left, only. 10% gave maximum

Creation of disobedient group norms puts more pressure on participants to conform

58
Q

Describe Rotter(1966)

A

Created a 13-part questionnaire

Measured internal and external LoC.

Scored range from 0 to 13

Low score =internal
High score = external

59
Q

Describe Locus of Control

A

The extent to which people think they’re in control of their lives.

Internal - things happen as a result of our choices and decisions

External- things happen because of luck, fate or other external forces.

People with internal are less likely to conform

60
Q

Describe research into Locus of Control

A

Spector(1983)

Ps with high external LoC conformed more than those with low external
- only in normative social pressure

Neither conformed in groups of ISP

Shows that feelings like we don’t need to be accepted into a social group increased our ability to resist social influence

61
Q

Describe cultural differences in LoC

A

Moghaddam(1998)

Japanese people conform more easily than Americans and also have a more external LoC.

Shows cultural differences in conformity can be explained by differences in LoC

62
Q

Describe Schurz(1985)

A

Told Ps to give what they be,I ever was a painful, skin damaging burst of ultrasound to a learner.

Found no relationship between LoC and obedience.

But Ps who gave high doses, those with internal LoC were more likely to take responsibility for their actions.

Shows that feelings of personal control could be related to resistance to social influence

63
Q

Describe cryptomnesia

A

The process of how minority attitudes become majority.

New belief takes form without conscious understanding of where it came from.

64
Q

Describe the snowball effect

A

Avermaet(1966)

As more people change their attitudes, change quicken

65
Q

Describe conversion

A

The process where majority gradually adopt new minority view.
New belief is accepted both publically and privately

Type of internalisation

66
Q

Describe factors involved in minority influence

A

Consistency
- indicates they’re committed

Commitment-
Seen as stronger if minority has had to resist social pressure and abuse because of their viewpoint.

Consistency and commitment create doings in established norms.
This leads to people re-examining their own behaviour and beliefs

Flexibility
Seen as more co operative and persuasive

Identification
Appealing to similarities such as gender
( Maas et al 1982)
Gay people arguing for gay rights wasn’t as successful as straight people fighting for gay rights.

67
Q

Describe systematic and superficial processing

A

Systematic
Minority viewpoint is carefully considered over time

Superficial
Instantly dismissed without analysis

68
Q

Who developed the social impact theory and what is it?

A

Latané and wolf(1981)

There are three factors that cause social impact when combined in sufficient measure

People change their behaviour if they’re put under pressure

69
Q

Outline three factors causing social impact

A

Immediacy:
How recent or physically close the source of pressure is

Numbers:
The size of the group applying pressure

Strength:
How powerful the person/group applying pressure is

70
Q

Outline a study that supported latané and would (1981)

A

Sedikides and Jackson(1990)

Field experiment in the bird house at a zoo

71
Q

Outline a study that criticised Latané and wold(1981)

A

Mullen(1985)

Analysed data from social impact theory studies.

Criticised using self report techniques instead of observable behaviour

72
Q

Describe the method for Moscovici et al(1969)

A

Lab experiment

192 female participants

Women split into groups of 6 with 2 confederates per group.

One control group with no confederates.

Groups asked to identify the colour of 36 slides. All were different shades of blue.

Consistent confederates identified wall 36 slides as green

Inconsistent confederates identified 12 slides as blue and the other 24 as green.

73
Q

Describe the results of Moscovici et al(1969)

A

Groups with consistent confederates
- 32% Ps identified at least one slide as green.
-8% of the time, Ps identified slides as green

Groups with inconsistent confederates
-1% of the time, Ps identified slides as green

Control group
- 0.25% of the time, Ps identified slides as green.

74
Q

What did Moscovici et al(1969) conclude?

A

Minority groups had more influence when they behaved consistent

75
Q

Evaluate Moscovici et al(1969)

A

Control group result
- proves minority groups had influence

Low ecological validity
- ps we’re in an artificial situation

Low generalisability
Female Ps only

76
Q

Describe the method for Nemeth et al(1974)

A

2 confederates per group

Three conditions:
- confederate identified every slide as green
- confederate identified darker slides as green and brighter slides as green-blue
-confederates randomly identified slides as green or green-blue

77
Q

Describe the results of Nemeth et al(1974)

A

Inconsistent
- didn’t influence any participants

Consistently identifying slides as green
- didn’t influence participants

Lighter/darker
- significant influence on Ps

78
Q

What can we conclude from Nemeth et al(1974)

A

Strict consistency was not effective. Ds responses seemed implausible when they could answer using multiple colours.

Flexible consistency was the most effective

79
Q
A

Psychology A-Level (7 decks)

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